The care support you deserve, covered by Medicare
Medicare covers ongoing home health care for some homebound adults. And VitaCare Home Health has partnered with RubyWell to help eligible adults on Original Medicare access this valuable benefit.
Home health care lightens the caregiving load
Whether you’re caring for yourself or a loved one, VitaCare Home Health can take some care responsibilities off your plate. Home health services VitaCare provides include:
Physical therapy
Skilled nursing
Occupational therapy
Home health aide support
Speech Therapy
VitaCare Home Health and RubyWell can help you access medically necessary home health services that are fully covered if you’re on Original Medicare (Parts A & B).
How can home health help?
Here’s what families often experience with home health care:
- Relief from constant caregiving and decision-making
- Fewer unplanned hospital trips or ER visits
- Peace of mind that you're not doing this alone
- Fewer out-of-pocket healthcare costs
- Improved health outcomes
- Ability to live at home longer
We help you afford to care for
Mom.
Here's how RubyWell’s free service works:
Answer some questions
We ask about the health, mobility, care needs, and health insurance provider of the person needing care.
Personalized guidance
Our technology can predict if you’re likely eligible for covered care, and our support team guides you through the home health referral order* process.
Build a care team
We connect you with VitaCare Home Health, so they can provide the approved home health services.
Aging at home is a team sport
At RubyWell, we have first hand experience with the challenges of navigating the home health system. So we’ve assembled a team of Medicare experts, clinicians, and seasoned family caregivers to help families access the support that’s out there.
We’re not a healthcare provider. We’re your advocate. We know how the system works, and we’re making it work for you.
Tech you can trust
RubyWell protects against fraud, waste, and abuse with rigorous audit practices. And we’re committed to maintaining the highest standards of security and data protection. As part of this commitment, RubyWell complies with HIPAA regulations and is SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
FAQs
No, hospice is specifically for end-of-life care. Patients are referred to hospice when they’re not expected to live more than 6 months, and their care is mainly palliative or “comfort” care. Home health care is for patients who may continue to live for years as long as they receive the care and treatments prescribed for them. However, if you believe that you or your loved one would be better served by hospice services, we are happy to connect you to our hospice partners.
Home Health vs. Home Care
Home health is different from home care, in that it includes care tasks that require more medical training than the care tasks provided in home care. For example, home health aides can monitor vital signs, administer medications, and care for wounds, catheters, and ostomies. Home care aides aren’t allowed to perform those kinds of care tasks, Instead, they provide “custodial care” which may include help with activities of daily living, driving to appointments, running errands, and providing companionship.
So while a home health aide can take on some of the more medical care tasks, the person receiving care may still need a family caregiver or home care aide to provide the home care tasks they need help with.
Skilled Services
Home health aides are overseen by a skilled nurse; home care aides are not. And care provided by home health aides is only offered in conjunction with skilled services like:
- Skilled nursing care
- Physical, occupational, or speech therapy
- Medical social services
Home health care services can also include:
- Patient and caregiver education
- Assistance with daily activities (bathing, dressing, grooming) by home health aides when combined with skilled care
- Intravenous or nutrition therapy, injections, and other medical treatments
Original Medicare (Parts A and B) fully covers medically-necessary home health services for eligible patients. Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) are required to cover the same services as Original Medicare, but they may charge a copay, and you may need prior authorization for care.
- At the end of the qualification form, you'll be asked to schedule a call with RubyWell so we can better understand the patient's care needs and explain the process to you.
- If the patient appears to be eligible, we'll provide directions to securely share their Medicare ID number, so we can confirm that they're covered by Original Medicare. This way we can help you avoid costly co-pays for unnecessary doctor visits if we learn that they're actually covered by a Medicare Advantage plan that we can't work with.
- If they're covered by Original Medicare, we'll provide them with a Home Health Discussion Guide that will help them communicate their care needs clearly with their doctor. They will need to have this discussion during an in-person appointment with their doctor in order for the doctor to assess if they should provide a home health referral order for the patient. The referral order tells Medicare and the home health agency that the doctor believes that certain home health services would be suitable for the patient.
- Once the patient’s doctor has submitted a signed, certified referral order, we'll pass the refer order to our partner, VitaCare Home Health. VitaCare may then review the referral order, schedule the Medicare-required home visit, and prepare a personalized care plan.
- VitaCare may then match the patient with a skilled nurse, any therapists indicated on the referral order, and possibly a home health aide. Care will start when the care team is staffed and visits are scheduled.
